a trip to sweden
by aurora151989
Summary: the sequel to "a different view of things" now go forth and enjoy
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: many many thanks to Evenflo78 for her wonderful betaing ****J**** she deserves a bit of credit for most of the details, or magic in here. Be sure to read her stories as well, and review hers, as well as mine**

I wake up in Sookie's bed, and it is soaking wet!

I also seem to feel the need to breathe and my chest feels heavy from the action but I continue breathing out of need. The scent and the wetness surrounding me reek of urine. I look over to my Sookie and notice she is not there. I then glance to the clock and see it's 4 am. I'm wondering what is going on and why I'm in the bed without Sookie, especially since it's only a few hours until dawn. The putrid odor causes my stomach to clench and I feel a foul taste form in my mouth. I jump from the bed in what seems to be slow motion.

Not liking the confusion I feel, I go looking for my bonded. It only takes a moment to realize my senses are not as sharp, and I can't seem to see as well in the dark. I stumble through the poorly lit house and find Sookie in the laundry room. I ask her what's going on but my voice sounds strangely rough and shaky.

"Eric, I'm afraid somehow you've turned human while we were resting. You must have gone into downtime and fell asleep or something and…" She pauses watching my reaction. "Well, you wet the bed." She turns back to the cabinet.

I stumble forward and a strange noise that almost sounds like a whimper bubbles up my throat.

"I'm getting new sheets from here and I'll change the bed. I'm not mad at you." She takes my hand and her skin feels like velvet on mine and it's the same temperature. "You probably didn't realize it was happening. Just try to remember, if you feel any kind of discomfort, try going to the bathroom and remember to put the toilet lid up." Sookie says matter-of-factly a hint of a smile plays on her lips.

Hmm, I think to myself, this is quite interesting. I remember earlier when Amelia was in her room chanting and shifting things around. Now I know what she was doing; the only question is, was it on purpose?

I remember hearing about her 'accidentally' turning her boyfriend into a cat, and her mentor had to turn him back into a human. I must have a talk with her, but I think first, I shall scare her shitless.

I go back and get the soiled sheets and mattress pad off the bed and put them in the washer, in order to prevent Sookie from having to touch my disgusting mess. I'm sure she had a rather nasty awakening from me wetting the bed. I help Sookie remake the bed and can't help but to notice how breath-taking she is, quite literally, even with my weakened vision.

Before I can get too carried away with my thoughts of Sookie and what I could be doing with her, I excuse myself.

Trying to focus in the dark and sorting through my jumbled and now slow thoughts is beginning to cause a throbbing in my head. But I have plans for the witch that must be tended to.

I take the stairs up to the witch's room and lay waiting in Amelia's closet.

After what seems like a very long time, I finally hear Amelia start moving

around. I also notice it seems to have gotten lighter. With a evil grin on my

face and laughter inside, I quickly get up and hide as best as I can in the

corner of the closet. I see the door open and jump out while shouting

"AARGHH".

I hear Amelia scream and watch her as she runs to Sookie's room,

frantically knocking on her door. She's saying "Help! Help! Eric just

jumped out of my closet. I think he's gonna do something to me"

I've follow Amelia without her knowing and when she turns around, she

screams again. I believe my lover may be outside where she can't hear. I

grab Amelia, attempting to calm her down and as her breathing slows, I ask her

to tell me what she's done.

"Oh my god, Eric! You nearly gave me a heart attack doing that to me." Amelia shrieks. "Get that smirk off your face, right now. It is NOT funny!"

The witch thought she could frighten me. I snicker at the thought and watch amused as she continues.

"Pam was here last night and she wanted me to try to put a spell on her to make her human for a month. I guess, somehow, I made you human instead. She gave me a few strands of hair that she pulled out of her head. She must have given me yours instead. It's not my fault."Well, well, I ponder only to myself. It seems as if Amelia's magic and Pam's never-ending trickery has struck again. Of all things, why would Pam do this? I know she loves to do things like baby showers and bridal showers and all those odd things she reads about in her "Dear Abby.""Thanks for telling me this witch. I mean, Amelia." I say as I begin urging her to the door. "Now, I believe Sookie may be outside if you will go fetch her and explain this to her. Leave me woman, I have a call I need to make." I watch as she leaves, obviously relieved.I remember Pam styling my hair like she enjoys doing sometimes. That, I assume, is how she managed to get hair out of my head. The mischievously annoying woman, most certainly will have a lot of explaining to do. I call Pam's cell and leave a message, since it is still daylight. "It seems that Amelia has managed to turn me human. The witch tells me she needed some of your hair for the spell. I'm positive you gave her my hair instead. We will discuss later whether it was intentional or not and what reasoning you have behind this. Exactly, what were you thinking even asking Amelia to try this? Don't you know she's botched her spells up before when she turned her boyfriend into a cat? I am sure that you now realize that the fact that I am human makes it easier for me to be killed. Have you not though of this?"

I hang up the phone, not only in anger, but in annoyance, at the fact that I seem to be out of breath due to my ranting.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: thankee to Evenflo78 for checking this over for me as well. ****J**

**Now, just to encourage you all to review, I'd like suggestions of what Eric might pick to eat, I already have a few things in mind, but you all might think of things I haven't.**

I go downstairs to see Sookie and Amelia making breakfast. They're making chocolate chip pancakes with blueberry syrup, as well as sausages. I find that this is quite interesting. I make sure to make a bunch of noise walking in, as not to frighten Amelia again. I'm not sure she's quite completely recovered from me scaring her shitless.

"Hello lover," I say, "this smells delicious. Do you have this every day while I sleep?"

"No, I just thought I'd make this today for you so you can enjoy it, while being human. This is so delicious and sweet," she says as she gestures to the pancakes. "And these sausages are the best. Now," she starts and turns to face me with her hands on her hips. "Did you have to scare Amelia like that? I could hear her screaming in my head while I was outside getting the newspaper."

"I think I did have to. After all, Amelia certainly wasn't expecting me to pop out of her closet yelling and I heard her moving things around and chanting last night. She's the one that turned me human. It is her fault that I will remain this way for a month."

I help by putting out plates and forks and then sit down with Amelia and Sookie to enjoy this good-looking food.

First, I decide to try these chocolate chip pancakes without the blueberry syrup. _Oh this is so sweet, so good and delicious. I enjoy the chocolate taste as well as the fluffiness of these pancakes. _I try a little bit of the syrup by itself and find it sickly sweet. I decide notto use it. "These are wonderful. Might I ask who made these?"

"I did," Amelia says. "These are my favorite kind of pancakes and I'm glad you like them."

Next I have some sausages. _Mmm a bit salty, and greasy, but these too, are quite enjoyable. _I saw a package in the trash, so I'm assuming these are store-bought, maybethese girls do have sausages once in a while. I soon become filled up on this delicious breakfast and excuse myself.

"Well, I believe I'm done. I'll go out and enjoy the sun. I haven't seen it in so long." I make my way outside and bask in the warm sun, knowing my lover will most likely join me once she and Amelia are done. _Those 2 are great friends and I think good for each other. From what I had been able to tell at night, Amelia seems to be obsessive with cleaning, while Sookie isn't, so the house has always been clean. _The morning June sun, it's very warm and humid already, but I relish the feel of it on my skin.

"Hi Eric," Sookie says. "Yes the sun is beautiful today isn't it? A nice day for tanning I think. But I need to get you some sunscreen so you don't get sunburned, with your pale skin."

"Yes, I believe I do remember having a sunburn or 2, in my time as a Viking. Those were really painful. I'll come with you to the store, and maybe see if I recognize any foods there that I might want to try. Of course, I'll need your help picking some out."

I watch Sookie go inside, and after a few minutes she comes back out with sunscreen. It's a good thing I thought to put on some shorts before scaring Amelia and having breakfast this morning. As Sookie gently puts sunscreen all over my face and upper body, I notice she's brought chairs out for us. We lie back and enjoy the sun together. I begin thinking about things.

_Hmm… how might I use my month as being human? I think maybe I'll arrange for a trip to my homeland in Sweden. I've always wanted to take Sookie there and show her the land, and the beauty of it. I'll have to ask Pam to take care of Fangtasia for me while we're gone. I assume she is still a vampire since she hasn't called me back. I'll have to send one of my waitresses to work at Merlotte's while Sookie is away. I always have more than enough for me, while Sam always seems to be so short. In fact, maybe I'll send 2, and pay them handsomely to make up for the missing tips._

"Eric, do you know that I can hear you? Only a little bit, it's muffled, kind of."

"That's good Sookie. Because then you don't know what I might be planning to do for us." I say raising my eyebrows and smiling down at her. "In fact, I have a few surprises for you I'm thinking of, don't worry, you'll greatly enjoy them"

Sookie goes back inside, and asks Amelia, "Do you mind if I borrow your car today? It's much bigger than mine and I was going to take Eric food shopping with me to see what he might like to try. I also have a few things in mind to cook for him, or to have him try."

"Yeah, that's fine Sookie. Just don't let him mess up my car, or eat in it." _I certainly don't want to be home alone with Eric just yet, at least not until he has a chance to talk with Pam. I'm not about to have him decide to try and give me another heart attack._

"Thanks so much Amelia, and don't worry, I don't think Eric will want to scare you again." Sookie says with a smile and a wink.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: the recipes for what Sookie is planning on making. ****http://allrecipes****. ****http://allrecipes****. I know it's called taco soup but it's close enough to chili. : )**

**Many thanks to Evenflo78 again for her ideas and suggestions.**

Sookie and Eric went to the Grabbit Kwik, and Eric, like a little kid was curious about all the new foods he had never really paid attention to before, as he couldn't eat them.

While in the produce section Eric asks Sookie, "What do you do with all these kinds of different foods, I don't recognize any of these things and don't know what to try." Eric grabbed a couple of cantaloupes and held them up to his chest, "What do you think, are these good?" He purred with a suggestive look on his face.

"Oh Eric! Only you could make cantaloupes dirty! Now, those taste slightly sweet when they're properly ripe." Sookie took the cantaloupes from Eric, checked them for ripeness and spoke knowingly to him. "See, this one smells sweet and is slightly soft when you squeeze it lightly." Eric wiggled his eyebrows at that. Sookie smacked him in the shoulder and put the cantaloupe in the cart.

Sookie went over to where the bananas were and told Eric about how they need to be yellow to know that they're ripe. "Now, bananas are very good to eat, and no comments about what it looks like!"

_Hmmmm, some of these look like a gracious plenty to me, as Sookie likes to call it_. Eric thought, and giggled to himself.

"Now, these carrots are also a bit sweet when cooked, and they're very good for your eyes. They'll give you super night-vision," she finished with a wink. "Actually any of these orange foods will. Personally, I like sweet potatoes with butter and brown sugar."

Sookie got a bell pepper for a dish she had in mind to make and went over to the meat section, pulling Eric with her.

"Sookie, what's the difference between all these meats?" Eric said curiously.

"Well, they're all from different animals, and they all taste slightly different, at least they do when they're not ground up." Eric started putting in a package of each kind and cut of meat he could get to. "Eric, stop that" Sookie said, while sifting through the buggy and putting the packages back. "We can't eat all this before it spoils and I can't afford it."

"Oh, but I can Sookie and I still remember how to dry meat to prevent spoilage although, these cuts of meat aren't the ideal for cutting to dry it."

"Eric, I'm trying to take care of you, it's my turn after all. You've been taking care of me so much. If you really want to, you can get one of those beef tenderloins to dry out for me."

"That would be great!" Eric said with a big grin on his face, he was thinking of where to dry the meat, while picking out the biggest and best tenderloin he saw. Sookie got some ground meat, and quickly got some canned beans while Eric was occupied with picking out a package of tenderloins.

While finishing up shopping, they got tomato sauce, tomato paste, as well as some ranch dressing mix and taco seasoning mix.

"Sookie, what are you thinking of making? I hope it's good." Eric asked sifting through the items in the buggy.

"I'm thinking of making some chili and cornbread. The cornbread tastes heavenly to me, and I love the beans in this chili, it's not spicy at all."

After paying for the food and going to the car, Eric asked Sookie, "Do you think we could go to Merlotte's? I need to discuss a few things with Sam".

_Hmmmm, _Sookie thought, _I wonder what Eric's up to. Merlotte's and Sam were about the only 2 words I could make out from his head earlier. _"Sure, I don't see why not".

They got to Merlotte's and Sam was astonished at the sight of Eric, in broad daylight.

_What in the world is going on here? What's Eric doing out in the sun? He smells different too, smells human. _

"Hello Sam, I'd like to talk about a few things in your office with you, if you don't mind that is."

"Of course Eric, that's fine." _I hope nothings going on again, or maybe Eric's thinking of taking Sookie away for a short time._

"As you most likely know, I'm human for a month, thanks to Pam's trickery, and I'd like to take Sookie to Sweden for a few weeks. I'll send over 2 of my waitresses, and I'll pay them myself. I know you always seem short on waitresses, and this way you don't have to pay their salary."

"That's fine Eric, how long do you think you'll be gone?" Sam responded, shocked by Eric's thoughtfulness.

"Oh, about 3 weeks, give or take a few days." Eric answered as he toyed with random items on Sam's desk.

Meanwhile…. Sookie was standing outside their office, _Sweden? Did I hear something about Sweden? I'm not surprised, he talks about it so much, of course he might have been thinking about taking me there._ She heard movement and hurried away from the door, trying to look busy and not like she was eavesdropping.

Eric saw her blushing. _Has my little fairy been listening? Little minx. _They said their goodbyes to each other. Then Eric and Sookie headed back home with their groceries.

After getting home and putting away the groceries, with the sun high in the sky, Eric decided to get to work with transforming his beef tenderloins into jerky. He cut the meat into long thin strips and laid them out on a baker's rack.

Sookie got to work making the chili and cornbread to have for lunch and maybe dinner. She got out some apples and cheddar cheese. After slicing them up, she then gave it to Eric. "Here you should eat this while I make us lunch."

"Thanks Sookie" Eric responded and snacked greedily, not realizing how hungry he was.

_This cheese smells quite interesting, not too foul. This apple is sweet and juicy, and the cheese is a bit dry but tastes very good. I try combining the two and the taste is heavenly, a bit of fat with juicy sweetness. I hope the meat will dry, even with this humidity. On second thought, maybe I'll put these strips of meat in the fridge for now, and later I can find out other ways of drying meat with the computer._

"Oh, wait Eric, let me put these in a container. That rack takes up a lot of room in the fridge."

Eric just looked at her sheepishly and thought, _wow, have I really been this unobservant about food, even around Sookie? I have much to learn I see._


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks so much again to Evenflo78. Now to encourage reviewing, suggest to me movies for them to watch, or tell me of Stockholm if you've been there. If I get 5 or more reviews, you will get a nice lemon! After all it is a 9 hour plane ride for the next chapter I believe.**

As the hours passed, sunset quickly arrived and Eric rushed outside to enjoy the beauty of it. Taking his phone with him, he watched as the sky showed an array of colors, orange, red, pink, purple. _Ahhh so wondrous, my first sunset in over a millennium, I've never quite appreciated the beauty until now. _Eric watched the sky grow darker and startedanticipating a call from the tricky, mischievous Pam._ Perhaps I won't answer her call at first and let her panic just a little._

Sookie joined him outside, but he didn't seem to notice her presence until she hugged him from behind and looked up at him with so much love and appreciation. She's almost surprised to see tears in his eyes.

"It's so beautiful Sookie" Eric said in a husky voice.

"I know Eric, I know. I can't imagine not seeing a sunset or the sun for so long, then finally seeing it again"

He leaned down and gave her such tender kisses, the feeling of joy in both of them taking over.

"Wait lets go to my room" Sookie whispered.

They made love to each other, not noticing the phone ringing, multiple times.

After they finished and were lying in the bed peacefully, Eric looked at his phone and saw 5 missed calls from Pam. _I didn't even notice it ringing. Pam must be truly terrified for me by now, calling me over and over in the space of about half an hour._

Eric quickly got dressed and picked up the phone to call back, when Pam came rushing in and hugged him for all she was worth.

"Ow, careful Pam. I'm a fragile human now remember?" Eric says with a laugh.

"Oh I'm so sorry master; I thought you were dead, or badly injured. When you didn't answer my call, I started flying over here as fast as I could. I'm so glad to see you're ok." Pam finally noticed that, of course, Eric wasn't alone. "I see you're more than ok." Pam said with a sly grin. "I'll leave you two to it."

"Oh, no you don't Pamela. We have some things to discuss, mainly your tricking Amelia into turning me human." Eric said sternly.

Meanwhile, Eric pulled Pam outside of the room so Sookie could get dressed properly, without Pam in the room.

"Well Eric, I've been seeing how much you and Sookie enjoy each other's company, and I thought maybe it would be nice to turn you human for a short time. This way you could have some peace and be able to spend some of her days with her. I didn't know about Bob, but I talked with Amelia under the pretense of turning me human, and she said there was a spell that could do it, but she would need some hair pulled out of my head. Since we have the same hair color, I thought it would be easy enough to give her yours."

"Pam, Pam, Pam, I trust you won't be doing this again. Will you?" Eric scowled even though he was human his vampiric tendencies held steadfast within.

"No, not on my undead life." Pam responded obediently.

"That's good to hear. Now, let's go in the kitchen where Sookie can't hear us. I have other things I must discuss with you."

"I'm planning on going to Sweden for a few weeks and will be taking Sookie with me. I'll need you to take care of the bar for me while we're gone. I'll also need you to send two waitresses to work at Merlotte's. Of course, they will need to be paid more than we're paying them now, to make up for the missing tips they would be getting from Fangtasia. I also believe my Sookie will need sweaters just in case."

"Ah yes, I'll get right on that. I do have some nice sweaters that Sookie can borrow, I'll be sure to have them when you need them. Also make sure you come see me before you leave, I'll have something ready for you in case of dire emergency." _Like a pint of my blood specially stored in a container just in case. _Pam thought ingeniously.

Eric looked at her with that last comment, and kept his thoughts to himself. _Shouldn't be anything bad and Pam's probably feeling a bit guilty_, _or worried at the thought of me flying to and back from Sweden._

Eric hears Sookie coming downstairs and turns to see her looking as lovely as ever. She asked him what the discreet conversation was all about. Eric responds by stroking her arm and telling her it was only a little business he had to tend to, in light of the situation.

"Now," Eric begins, "What do you think about Sweden? I just need to call my private pilot and we'll leave early tomorrow. We can see the sunrise together, if you'd like of course." Eric said gleefully, unable to stop the smile that spread across his face. "I already talked to Sam about us leaving and I'm sending over some waitresses to cover for you."

"Wow! Sweden, that's so great, I think I'd love it, except… I don't have any clothes for the weather up there. Isn't it cold, even in summer?"

"Well surprisingly enough, no. We might want to get you some sweaters just in case though, it's slightly cooler than you're used to here. There's also much more daylight, since it's so far north."

Eric heads back upstairs to make hotel reservations for the next 3 weeks on Sookie's ancient computer, as well as calling Pam to tell her of the plan to leave in the early morning. She tells him she'll be bringing by the sweaters and her little something and will see them off on our trip.

Eric then, calls the pilot to make arrangements to fly to Sweden. He tries to object but Eric quickly offers him double the usual rate. The pilot agrees and says he'll be there with a co-pilot, since it's such a long flight.

"I'm going to Sweden tomorrow!" Sookie tells Amelia excitedly. "You're free to stay in the house while I'm gone. Tray's also welcome to stay with you if you like, in the guest room."

Amelia squealed in her excitement for Sookie. "Hey Sookie, I know a spell that I can use to block your telepathy for your trip. That way you wouldn't have to try to keep everyone out of your head when you should be relaxing."

"That would be great Amelia, just make sure you do everything right and follow the directions precisely." Sookie said with nudging Amelia playfully.

"I'll get right on it, to give the spell plenty of time to start working." Amelia says as she skips off towards her room.

They heard a car driving up and looked outside to see a black Lincoln in the driveway. Sookie went downstairs to invite Pam in, and noticed some beautiful warm sweaters, as well as a small container.

Eric comes downstairs after hearing a car and to see Pam in the kitchen. He asks her about the container and she tells him that it's some of her blood specially stored. Eric watches as Sookie begins trying on the sweaters and is glad to see they fit her well.

_Her blood will work well enough if only Sookie or I get hurt. I hope we don't both get dangerously injured and knocked unconscious, then that blood will do us no good. _Eric thinks to himself and immediately tries brushing off that worry and think about enjoying vacationing in Stockholm.

Pam has also brought Eric clothes in a suitcase in her car. She helps Sookie get packed and they all sit down in the living room to watch TV. A peaceful silence between them passes as they wait for the driver to arrive.

After a while, Amelia comes downstairs and taps Sookie on the shoulder.

"Can you hear what I'm thinking at you?" Amelia asks hopefully, knowing she's such a good broadcaster.

"No I can't" Sookie says, smiling brightly. "Thank you so much." She squeals giving Amelia a hug.

Pam looks at Amelia with a greatly embarrassed look, knowing that the jig is up, and has been up. Pam leads her into the kitchen gently. "Amelia, I know I tricked you, I just wanted Eric to experience being human again for a short while, I'm sorry. I imagine he tried scaring you when he figured it out?"

"Yes he did, he jumped out of my closet at me!" Amelia responded still horrified at the memory. "Well it's too late now, and I'll be able to spend a lot of time with Tray in this house with Sookie and Eric gone." Amelia said, winking at Pam.

Pam's tinkling laugh filled the tiny room and Amelia soon found herself joining in.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: be sure to make commentary, review, suggest things. Even if you don't know anything about Stockholm, tell me about places you've been nearby, or where you live, if it's in Europe. Of course many many thanks to Evenflo78, be sure to read her stories! I talk back : ) The next chapter may take a bit for me to write, don't want to leave you all hanging and waiting. The more I hear about different places, the quicker I can write!  
**

At about 4:30 in the morning, the driver to take Eric and Sookie to the plane arrived to pick them up. The three girls and Eric exchanged hugs and goodbyes. Pam was telling them both to be careful.

The car was a huge black limo. After putting their luggage in the trunk, Sookie looked around in amazement at the interior of the limo. The wide seats were covered in velvet, and very comfortable. The cantaloupes that were bought were carefully put next to the cooler so they wouldn't roll around.

The plane was waiting for them several minutes away in a large, open, pavement-covered area. The space was large enough for take-off and landing. The pilots exchanged greetings with Sookie and Eric and they went into the plane.

The interior was even more amazing. Two long leather couches, a mini fridge, a large flat screen TV hooked up to a DVD player. The back area was separated from the cockpit area by a door and a curtain covering the door. There were also 2 long windows on either side of the plane, to provide an excellent view of the sky and ground below, while in the air.

As the plane took off flying, Eric had noticed the sky getting lighter and got Sookie to look out the window, awed by the beauty of it.

A red orb peeking out of the horizon and the light streaming everywhere was unobstructed by trees and hills.

_So breathtaking_, Eric thought, _so beautiful. _

Sookie began appreciating and really seeing the beauty around her after seeing Eric's newfound joy in everything. She watched his eyes light like a child's on Christmas morning and couldn't keep her hand as it wrapped itself securely around Eric's.

Eric's eyes met Sookie's and he lowered his head until his forehead rested against hers.

"Not as beautiful, or as breathtaking as you lover." Eric said before touching Sookie's lips with his own.

Sookie deepened the kiss as she entangled her fingers in Eric's hair. Breathless and flushed Eric pulled back reluctantly and smoothed Sookie's hair out of her face.

"Now my love, I have a few DVD's here we can watch on the journey. What do you think you might like?"

"Hmm, I think I might like to watch the 13th Warrior first, then Interview with the Vampire, I've heard these are good movies."

"Excellent choices lover"

Eric put the DVD for "13th warrior" in, and worked the remote to have it begin playing. They snuggled up on the couch and settled in to watch the movie.

"That woman, why would they have her burn on the ship?" asked Sookie.

"That would be a thrall, or a slave woman, she most likely volunteered to go with her master to the next world. She would have been very drunk, and not feeling the flames, so it would have been mostly painless." Eric explained.

"Those creatures, attacking the village, I myself have heard legends and may have seen one or two of them." Eric commented.

"Really?" Sookie said excitedly, eyes shining

"Oh yes. Once when I was very little, I saw 2 men that looked very different than what I was used to seeing. They were short, with strange looking heads, wild hair and grunted to each other and gestured as they were walking through the woods. In hindsight, they were probably talking to each other, but it sounded like grunts to me. I also heard tales of creatures coming in the night, and all our meat disappearing. The footprints that were found in the morning didn't look quite human, but they didn't look like any animal that lived in the area. I believe these days, you call them Neanderthals."

Sookie looked at Eric with amazement in her eyes. "Wow, that's so incredible."

After the movie ended, Eric put in "Interview with the Vampire" and commented that he was interested in watching the movie.

As Brad Pitt appeared on the screen, with a veiny, pale face and mesmerizing eyes, Eric commented "I think I look much better than that vampire telling his story, whether vampire or now as a human."

"I believe that vampire's name is Louis, and the blonde one there, played by Tom Cruise, would be Lestat." Sookie said. "That's as much as I know about this movie."

"Just one thing about the turning process," Eric chimed in, "It takes 3 nights for a new vampire to rise, not a few minutes or hours. That thing about stakes not killing, and having to sleep in coffins, that is a myth perpetuated by our kind, this way humans wouldn't think of trying to stake us through the heart, and try burning empty coffins."

After watching the movie some more, Sookie thought _all these women have been glamoured, otherwise they would feel the bite and try to get away and scream._

After seeing Claudia finally have a tantrum and cut off her hair, Eric commented. "Our hair actually never grows, that's why I've never cut my hair. It would never grow back. It's also not right to turn a child, barely a teenager, they would never get to grow up and mature. A deadly vampire with the mind of a child is not a good idea."

The sky rapidly darkened as the plane pressed on east. There was barely a sunset to see as the plane moved too fast. It got cool in the cabin so, Eric got out some warm blankets for himself and Sookie.

Huddled under the blanket Eric began to rub his hand along the length of Sookie's thigh. Sookie, getting the idea, turned to Eric and let her fingers roam the plains of his chest until they came to rest at the button of his jeans. Eric's low growl urged Sookie to continue as she slipped her hand in to find the warm hardened flesh of his member.

Eric, being impatient, slipped his jeans off in one swift movement and turned to remove Sookie's. Sookie arched into him signaling to Eric her need for him and he obliged, burying himself into her heat in one thrust.

Sookie's moans urged Eric on as he pounded into her with desperation. Sookie arched her back into him and dug her fingernails into Eric's shoulders as she rode through her waves of pleasure, sending Eric into his as she screamed his name.

Breathless and sweaty, Eric slipped out of her and kissed Sookie's cheeks, before speaking. "Not all things are better as a vampire." Sookie laughed in response and relaxed in his hold.

As the movie ended, they were both sleepy. Eric turned off the DVD player, then laid down on the couch with Sookie. Wrapping himself and Sookie up in a blanket, they fell asleep holding each other.

**Ending notes: anonymous reviews have been enabled, just wanted to let those secret readers know.**


	6. Chapter 6

Author's note: Thank you for your reviews, favorites and alerts, knowing you're all waiting to hear more of my story gets me to tell more and more. I tried my best to get information on Sweden, not sure how I feel about this chapter. If you want, have a look here http://en. Wikipedia .org/wiki/Swedish_cuisine and here http://wikitravel .org/en/Stockholm

**The plane landing awoke the sleeping couple and one of the pilots announced, "Welcome to Stockholm. The current time is 10:30 pm here. I hope you have fun and enjoy your stay." **

"**Well, it seems we are finally here my love. I'm sure you're ravenous by now. I know I certainly am." Eric said as he kissed the back of Sookie's neck. **

**As they were getting off the plane, Sookie grabbed the cantaloupes and said, "Let's not forget these," while Eric got their bags to put in the driver's car. **

**Eric let the co-pilots know he would not need their services for the trip back home and paid them both handsomely for their services. Sookie and Eric made their way to the hotel where Eric had made their reservations. Seeing as how they had landed only a few miles away, it was a short drive. **

**In the hotel room, was a small kitchen, complete with a dishwasher, stovetop, oven, fridge, fully stocked with utensils and dishes. There was also a separate bedroom with a king-sized bed, and a large TV in the armoire directly in front of it. **

"**This is our home away from home, at least for now," said Eric with a smile. "Now how about you and I cut up one of these cantaloupes and enjoy it before getting any other food." Eric said as he eyed the cantaloupes hungrily.**

**While eating the cantaloupes, Eric commented on how sweet they were though he noticed they were not quite as sweet as chocolate. Sookie just smiled and watched him in awe as he took pleasure in something as simple as a piece of cantaloupe.**

"**Do you know that Stockholm is actually made up of 14 islands?" Eric asked. **

"**No I didn't." Sookie replied looking at him with great interest. **

**Eric nodded as he continued. "It smells and looks as clean as I've always remembered it, even before it was named Stockholm. The people here have done a superb job of keeping the area so clean." Eric got a faraway look on his face. "You can walk most anywhere here. I know there are all kinds of food here that I've never been able to try, but they all smell so interesting."**

"**I'm sure over the next month you will have plenty of opportunities to try different foods." Sookie responded. "I can't wait for you to take me on a tour." Eric couldn't help but to notice the sparkle in her eyes and reached out to stroke her hand.**

*******************

**The next day, they went to the Skansen museum first. It is an open air museum with plenty of Swedish wildlife, and an aquarium with tropical animals, including lemurs and crocodiles. Eric took pictures of each animal he saw, so he could give copies to Sam and give him more options of animals to shift into. They stopped to look at each animal. Sookie with curiosity and awe, Eric with amazement and wistfulness, most of these animals he had not seen in daylight for so long. They also went to the Vasamuseet, a museum with a large ship in it that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628. **

**When they finally stopped for lunch Eric decided to get Sookie to try his favorite foods he remembered from when he was human. Among these were sausages, Swedish pancakes, salted and cured fish as well as crayfish. Sookie commented that the fish were too salty for her taste, but she enjoyed the pancakes and crayfish. Eric was careful not to let Sookie get a peek at the prices of these things. He knew she would find them outrageously expensive and argue with him for spending too much. **

**Over the next few days, they went on tours and walks, enjoying the sights and views. Eric found himself wishing he could still fly and show Sookie just how beautiful this place might be from the sky and made a silent promise to himself on the flight back, he would get a flight that departed during the day, so she might get a view of the city.**

**They also went to Berlin for a few days, using a rental car of course, and went to the Berlin zoo and enjoyed curry wurst. Eric found it very spicy, too spicy for his taste but Sookie quite enjoyed it. Eric was sure to snap pictures of the polar bears to show Sam.**

**After about a week or so, Sookie was finding that she was a bit homesick for the good old USA. She spoke with Eric and they decided to go on the next flight out to Maryland. She had always wanted to go there and was happy to have been able to spend time with Eric in Stockholm. She was sure to show Eric her appreciation with her every kiss and her every touch. **

**They left about 8:00 the next morning and boarded the plane. Eric had purchased first class tickets so they would have the utmost comfort on the long flight back. Their bags could both be carried on, so they didn't have to worry about getting them back at the airport in Maryland. **

**Sookie looked out the window during takeoff and gasped in awe of the beauty of the city from the air. "It's Beautiful." **

"**Yes, I knew it would be beautiful from the sky. I was wishing the other day that I could still fly so I could show you the city from above. This is the next best thing." Eric said softly, placing a chaste kiss on her palm.**

**Closing notes: I know, I'm a cheater, but I know Maryland, Maryland is my home, I have much more to talk about : ). If you want to know where in Maryland I live, just let me know.**

**PS, sorry about the wait, my poor beta was or is sick : ( be sure to send her chicken soup! And be sure to think of her, hope you all had a great thanksgiving : )**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: please do let me know what you all think, and thanks Evenflo for the lovely lemon : ) and my stream of ideas is dying… please review and give me more ideas!!!**

The plane chased the sunrise across the Atlantic for many hours until it arrived in Annapolis. When it finally arrived they left the plane and began a new adventure.

First Eric went to rent a red corvette, and get a map of Annapolis as well as Maryland. "Sookie, where would you like to go?"

"I'm not sure, I think this is a nice place to stay, I saw a lot of water around here and it looked like a big city when I saw it from above."

"Ah yes, the water you saw would be the Chesapeake Bay, and this is the capitol of Maryland. I know of a very nice hotel here that is right on the water, I think we might both enjoy it very much."

As they headed to a nearby seafood restaurant, Eric called the hotel to reserve a room for a week, and left a message on Pam's phone letting her know that they're both still ok and now in Annapolis if she wanted to visit.

They ordered hard shell crabs and shrimp at the restaurant. Sookie started showing Eric how to eat a crab. "First you open up the bottom here. Then you take off the top. Next you take off the legs and break them apart. See all this white meat here, that's the edible part, or at least the part you should be eating." Sookie said.

She also demonstrated using the pincers and the mallet to get at the meat in the large claws. Sookie cautioned him against eating the hard shell covering the tails of the shrimp, she demonstrated nibbling the tail gently to get the meat out and Eric raised his eyebrows at her.

Eric started attempting to open his crab, of course making a terrible mess, with Sookie giggling at him. "No! No! Use the mallet gently but forcefully, don't smash it." Sookie explained as Eric continued. "I think these crabs taste similar to the crayfish, what do you think?" asked Sookie.

"I think they're a bit sweeter, but this spice, hmm it's a tiny bit sweet and a bit salty, but it's still very good." Eric commented.

When they both got their fill and cleaned up, Eric of course generously tipped the waitress and they went shopping!

First they went to a pottery store and Eric marveled over the work and the beauty of all the things in the sunlight. There were bowls, cups, plates, spoons and knives all made of fired clay. The colored glazes on the pottery were in blues, purples, reds, browns, even oranges with swirls of glaze and beautiful decorations on the outside of the bowls and cups.

They carefully picked out a set of dinnerware and picked out their favorite cups to buy. Eric picked out pottery that was mostly red, while Sookie picked mostly purple pottery.

Next, they went to a jewelry store and Eric bought Sookie a beautiful diamond ring with a large diamond with a gold band while Sookie was occupied with something else.

They got back to their room and when she wasn't looking, he slipped the ring on her finger as he spoke. "This is because you're wonderful. Your beauty far surpasses this ring." Sookie looked at it and gasped at how beautiful it was and gave Eric a passionate kiss.

After they finished kissing Eric whispered in her ear, "I love you so much Sookie, you're my one, my life, my everything. I want to have children with you and be with you for as long as we both live."

"Oh yes Eric, I love you so much too, I'd be so happy to stay with you, in your home, be with you always." Their eyes both filled with unshed tears at the strong emotions running through them.

Eric embraced Sookie causing her to gasp as he assaulted her mouth with his. His tongue smoothed over her lip seeking entrance and she quickly obliged, melting into his arms. Sookie's unshed tears began to stream down her cheeks as she felt Eric's love pouring into her through his lips.

Slowly, but eagerly, they began to undress each other, both leaving trails of kisses on the exposed flesh. Eric kissed his way down to Sookie's exposed breasts, paying equal attention to each of her hardened nipples as he bit and sucked and kneaded her bare skin. Sookie arched into him causing a low growl to rumble in Eric's chest as he slipped down Sookie's lace thong, the last remaining barrier between them.

Returning his mouth to hers, Eric lowered them both to the bed and Sookie tangled her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer still. Eric's fingers traced her form, causing her to squirm and pant breathlessly. Sookie ran her fingers down the muscular planes of Eric's back and ended on his backside, squeezing it firmly and pressing him against her heat causing them both to gasp at the closeness.

"Patience, lover." Eric said as he slid his fingers up and down Sookie's entrance causing her to buck against his hand, desperately seeking friction.

"Please Eric, I need you." Sookie pleaded as she wrapped her hand around Eric's stiffness and pulled him closer with every motion of her hand.

Sookie lined his head up with her wet entrance and rubbed it tauntingly against her lips. Eric gripped her hips lightly before sliding into her moisture at a slow but deliberate pace. Eric pressed into her an inch at a time and smiled as Sookie continued to beg for him.

When Eric was completely sheathed inside Sookie, he stroked her cheek and caught her eyes with his. "I love you, Sookie." Eric's voice was but a whisper but Sookie could hear the sincerity of his words as he began moving within her.

Both panting and sweating the lovers moved fluidly together as one. Eric shifted slightly and wrapped Sookie's leg securely around his hip, hitting a different spot and pushing Sookie over the edge of her orgasm.

"I love you, Eric." Sookie said, though it came out as more of a moan while she clenched around Eric's length sending him pulsing within her wall as he filled her with his seed.

Eric's final growl filled the room as Sookie milked him of every last drop, until he fell against her, wrapping his arms securely around her and rolling finally to the side. Eric stroked her hair as Sookie traced her fingers along the planes of his chest, both sighing in contentment and blissfulness.

Eric mentioned to her "This hotel has a sauna, spa, hot tub, a heated pool, a fitness room and cable television. I've also heard they have excellent food here. I'd like to teach you to swim in the pool though, if you'll let me."

"That sounds good" Sookie replied. They got their swimsuits and goggles; of course Eric was wearing red swimming briefs, while Sookie wore a pink bikini with flowers on it.

They went down the pool and first Eric taught Sookie to tread water. After she mastered that, he taught her the doggy paddle, where you swim with your head above water.

Meanwhile, while she wasn't looking, Eric took a deep breath and ducked underwater and waited. Sookie looked around and couldn't find him, she began to panic and yell uselessly. She felt tickling on her feet and when she looked down, Eric tugged her to him while surfacing and taking more deep breaths.

"Eric you scared me! I thought you were drowning or disappeared." Sookie said as she swatted him on the arm.

"I'm sorry lover, I was only playing, I won't do it again I promise." Eric said, looking so sorrowful, but with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"I think I'm done with the pool now, maybe we could go over and sit in the hot tub?" Sookie asked.

"Sure that would be fine, but I can't stay in there too long, I hear hot tubs are not good for my gracious plenty." Eric replied with a wink.

They stayed in there for about 15 minutes and Eric suggested that they should get out now, since the sign recommended one only be in the hot tub for 15 minutes. Sookie felt relaxed a bit by then and agreed, they went back to their room and changed back into their clothes.

It was about midday and they went back down to the hotel restaurant to have lunch. Eric had a bloody mary while Sookie had a gin and tonic. They shared apples, grapes, brie, cheddar cheese and bread. They also shared a rare steak. Sookie made sure Eric drank water with his bloody mary, telling him that drinking water with alcoholic drinks helps prevent a hangover. Eric found that he preferred the grapes and cheddar cheese while Sookie preferred the apples and brie.

They walked around, watched tv and a few movies and before they knew it the sun dropped below the horizon, and Eric got a call from Pam. She let him know that she would be traveling up with her pets to visit and bringing Eric's corvette up to him, of course closing the bar for a few days while she's gone. Eric replied that would be great, and to please be careful while towing the car.

Meanwhile, Pam made sure to put up a sign announcing that Fangtasia would be closed for the next few days, put her travel coffin in the back of her car, got a supply of true blood and get her pets to come with her on a road trip to Maryland. Pam drove over to one of Eric's safe hiding places to pick up his lovely corvette and hook it up to her minivan for towing. Then she picked up her pets, Emily and Peter, as well as some human food and left for Annapolis. Pam explained that she would be driving at night, while Emily and Peter would take turns driving during the day, of course stopping for food and rest breaks.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks again to Evenflo78!! I know you've already read most of this, I added the last bit to the bottom and thought it would go better here rather than posting another chapter. I probably should have waited before posting this chapter the first time, sorry. Will be working on chapter 9 today :)**

The next morning, after an early breakfast, Eric and Sookie were discussing where they might go that day.

"I was thinking maybe I'd like to go to the beach and sunbathe for a while." Sookie suggested.

"I have a brochure for Sandy Point state park. I see there are beaches and two hiking trails. It also seems to be only a quick drive from here" Eric replied.

"That sounds good." Sookie replied, taking the brochure. "It looks like the bathrooms, food stands and picnic tables are in the south beach area, so we should go there in particular."

Eric pulled out a tube of SPF 50 sunscreen and said, "What do you think lover?"

Sookie started giggling and said, "That's fine, but you really don't need to go much higher than SPF 30. SPF 30 already gives you as much protection as you're going to get from the sun."

They changed into their swimsuits and packed a small bag with towels and bottles of water, and Eric put in the special box saying, "Let's not forget to have this with us."

"Eric, is that... vampire blood in there?"

"Yes Sookie, that would happen to be Pam's blood in there. She felt so guilty and worried about us that she wanted me to have this in case of dire emergency."

"Oh wow, how did I not notice that before now?" Sookie wondered aloud.

"It must have been due to our distraction, and I think this is the first time you saw this box."

He opened it up and showed Sookie four tightly sealed, clear containers with a red liquid in them. The containers looked like they each contained about half a cup of liquid. There was a cap on the top of each of the lids that you could screw off to drink the contents.

"Now lover, shall we go to buy ourselves some beach chairs and powerful sunglasses?"

"Yeah, let's do that." Sookie said, eyeing the container and hoping nothing was in the water that day. "I think maybe we could also get a beach umbrella, for when we're tired of being in the sun. Or if we just want to sit in the shade." suggested Sookie.

"Ah yes, yesterday I noticed a shop selling these beach chairs and umbrellas, we can stop there on the way."

They got there, settled on a spot close to the water, but also close to the food and bathrooms. Eric put out the chairs and umbrella, while Sookie put the towels on the blankets. The day was already warm, with the hot sun shining down. The sand wasn't too hot to walk on yet though.

It happened to be low tide with the tide going out, so Eric offered to take Sookie for a ride while he swam in the water.

"Are you sure you'll be able to swim with me on your back hanging onto you?" Sookie asked.

"Yes, I'm very sure. I'm very strong even as a human." Eric said, while flexing his biceps. Sookie thought about it, then said yes and got on Eric's back, wrapping her arms and legs around him. "Remember Sookie, when we're in the water, you'll have to kick your legs with me, and try not to restrict my shoulders too much."

He walked in the water and when they were deep enough, he began to swim, and Sookie began to kick with him. It was a short swim before Eric got tired of trying to stay above water and they went back to shore to dry themselves on their chairs.

"That was so fun Eric! Thanks for taking me on that ride."

"Of course love, I thought you might enjoy that very much."

They rubbed sunscreen all over each other before settling down to sunbathe, paying particular attention to the face, and Eric's chest and back. Sookie let Eric know that he should turn over every so often as to get tanned on both sides.

With the sun high in the sky, and the sand very hot, they were very hungry and went to the nearby food stand to get hotdogs. Eric got a packet of mustard and sweet relish to try with his hotdog, while Sookie preferred hers plain. After moving their chairs under the umbrellas and into the shade, they drank their relatively cool water and Eric commented on how well the mustard and relish blended with the taste of the hotdog.

Meanwhile, a bunch of seagulls began gathering around them, hoping for some food. Eric went to buy another hotdog, with no bun, and began tossing bits to the birds.

Sookie took a piece of the hotdog and said, "Watch." She held it out, low to the ground, and a seagull took it from her hand. He gave her half the hotdog, and took bits off his half and tossed them in the air towards specific gulls, and the birds would catch it every time. _Very acrobatic birds_ he thought, _entertaining as well._

They drove back to the hotel and who did they see, but Dermot. The evil fairy number 3! Eric got Sookie to stay in the car while he went to the room to get a rope and blindfold. Then he grabbed Dermot and with Sookie's help, Eric tied him up, blindfolded him and brought him into their room.

"Now fairy," Eric hissed. "What are you doing outside of the hotel we are staying in? And why were there 2 fairies waiting for Sookie outside her house a few months ago, both with torture instruments?" Eric demanded in his low scary voice. _Good thing I'm human right now, I can interrogate this evil slimy thing without feeling the need to drain him. I think I'll give him to Pam; she was a little upset that I got to drain 2 fairies while she had none._

Dermot replied that right outside this hotel was a portal to and from fae, that's what he was doing outside the hotel. He also replied that Breandan sent those 2 fairies, to punish Niall for being partial to Sookie, his great granddaughter. Dermot hid the fact that he was working for Breandan from Eric, not wanting to be killed, or held and killed later.

"Very well," Eric responded. "Go back, find Breandan and tell him you found Sookie and bring him back here to me. Also no funny business or it'll be your head too." Eric said very darkly, still using his low scary voice.

Meanwhile, Eric called Niall and asked him to send a picture of Breandan as soon as possible. _This way I'll know if Dermot actually comes back with him._ Niall already owed Eric a small favor, and so within a few minutes an e-mail was sent with an attached picture.

Dermot came back with Breandan, Sookie hid in the bathroom while Eric led them into their room, and when they were in front of the walk-in closet, Eric opened it and shoved Breandan in, Dermot had a good idea of what Eric wanted to do, so Breandan was trapped and doomed. Eric quickly made it so the door couldn't be opened from the inside then bid Dermot goodbye and let Sookie know it was safe to come out.

Eric's cell-phone rang, and the id showed Pam, Eric wasn't sure about this but answered his phone to Emily calling to ask for the address and room number of the hotel as they would be arriving shortly. He gave the information and Emily put it in the gps directions.

"Sookie, Pam's pet Emily just called to let me know they would be here shortly, they being Emily, Peter and Pam. Peter is another one of Pam's pets, maybe you would like to watch a movie while we're waiting?" "I think "the proposal" looks good" Sookie replied. They sat down and began watching the movie, and before he knew it, Emily called again to say they're here.

They went downstairs to help Peter and Emily bring Pam up as well as their things. Sookie asked if they were hungry, but they weren't, they had plenty of food, and had just eaten out. Eric decided to order room service for himself and Sookie, as he wanted to be in the room when Pam awoke and somehow keep her from killing Breandan right away.

He ordered 2 steaks, cooked medium rare, and 2 grilled lobster tails with butter. When the food arrived, the pets had decided to go walk and look around, and see things before it got dark.

After enjoying their dinner, Sookie and Eric decided to watch some more tv. Before they knew it, Pam had unlocked her coffin from the inside and came out to say hello. Her pets returned about 5 minutes later.

They exchanged hellos and hugs, then Eric informed Pam of the presence of an evil fairy in the room. "A fairy? In here?" Pam asked, surprised "I don't smell any fairy, but Sookie is smelling delectable as always." She said, showing some fang. "This fairy must be masking his scent right now. This thing, sent those 2 fairies to go after Sookie with the intent of torturing and killing her. Do be sure to make his death slow and painful"

Pam began thinking of all the things she could do to him in fangtasia's basement while Eric showed her where Breandan was locked up. Breandan went pale at the sight of Pam, and realizing what she was going to do to him, tried to run away but Pam caught him! She had one of her pets get some rope from the car, and tied his wrists and ankles together.

Pam then went downstairs to check in, she had made reservations for a night, then gave Emily and Peter their room key. "We'll be leaving tomorrow morning, I'll put Breandan in the car before I rest for the day, you may give him food and water, but always watch him and don't untie him" Pam told them.

**Please do review, if you have ideas tell them to me, if you thought something was funny or cute let me know : ) just press that tiny green button. Help me figure out what happens after a month is up, Does eric stay human? Does he go back to being a vampire? And later on, should Sookie be pregnant?**


	9. Chapter 9

**I realized that I gave Eric lobster with garlic butter the night before, I just edited that part to butter, it is not garlic butter; however something will happen with garlic in here. Now betaed by Evenflo, ty!!!!**

Pam, Sookie and Eric stayed up most of the night visiting and chatting.

After Eric and Sookie fell asleep, Pam checked on the blood in the special box, drank it and then put in fresh blood in two of the containers deciding to take the two empty containers back. She then put Breandan in the car, with the windows open, and went in her coffin just a few minutes before the sun rose.

After having breakfast, Sookie and Eric helped Pam's humans bring her coffin down to the minivan and put it in the back. They also helped put their things in the car and bid them farewell.

"I was thinking maybe we could go to the national zoo today." Suggested Sookie. "It's not too far away and you have your car back now".

"Hmm, what might be at this zoo?" Eric asked, and started looking it up on his laptop. Sookie went over and sat in his lap to look with him. "I see there are all kinds of creatures here. Some creatures I've never seen before." Eric commented.

"Same with me. Like flamingoes, those are interesting birds." Sookie told him.

"Alright love, let's go to the zoo. Just let me print out directions, as well as the zoo map and we'll be off. Be sure to pack sunscreen and water for us in our bag. Oh, and that box."

After getting what he printed from the printer down the hall, they left for the zoo. Eric was happy to see that his car had a full tank of gas and happy to be driving it again. He didn't need any reminding to drive carefully, with all the traffic.

He found a parking spot in parking lot A and they walked from one end to the other looking at all the animals.

First they went to the Asia trail, and then the bird house. It was Sookie's turn with the camera to take pictures, and she took many. Sookie thought the red pandas and otters were so cute, while Eric found it very interesting that such a big beast could live on a diet of bamboo. At the bird house, they chuckled with each other a bit at the funny flamingoes but also found them very beautiful.

"Maybe I could dare Sam to shift into a flamingo." Sookie commented,

Eric looked at her mischievously. "Yes…. That'd be hilarious." He grinned widely.

They then wandered over to the small mammal's house and Sookie cooed over all the cute little animals. The golden lion tamarins were her favorite, while Eric liked the meerkats.

A few hours had passed and they were getting hungry and a bit hot. Eric looked at the map and saw that they could go back and get food from the Panda Café.

They shared a pizza, and Eric commented. "More food I can eat with my hands." Sookie just looked at him and smiled. The pizza had pepperoni and vegetables on it, but Eric thought he smelled some garlic in it. Eric ate it anyway.

While they were walking back to the cheetah conservation station, Eric said. "My mouth is feeling funny, and it's itchy."

Sookie looked and said "Oh my god! Your face! It's covered in hives, and your lips are swollen." She started getting out one of the containers from the box, saying it must be an allergic reaction to something.

"It must be the garlic I smelled; I guess I'm allergic to it as a human." Eric said, and drank a tiny bit of Pam's blood.

His face went back to normal quickly and all was well.

While looking around and before they left, Sookie was sure to take pictures of each animal she passed on the way, including kangaroos, maned wolves and the cheetahs.

"I'm thinking maybe now we could go to the national mall, and go in some museums." Eric said as they were getting into the car.

"Hmm, that sounds good." Sookie said.

One of the museums they went to was the National Museum of Natural History. When they saw the skeleton of a mammoth, Eric began telling Sookie a story.

"I was out on a hunting trip, in the winter. We were looking for a reindeer to kill and one of the men in my group noticed something sticking out of the snow. At the time I didn't think much of it. It was white and round but when we moved the snow out from around it we noticed it was a huge bone. It looked to be about the size of the top of that mammoth's skull. At first we thought it was a rock, but it was too smooth."

"Oooh! Eric, that must have been a mammoth skull!" Sookie exclaimed.

"Yes I believe it was, and it looks like a giant animal from what I can see of this skeleton."

They came across a mummified goat while walking through, and Eric commented that he accidentally came across an Egyptian mummy.

"How'd that happen?" Sookie asked full of curiosity.

"Well it was about 500 years ago; I was in the area of Egypt looking around for treasures, and humans of course. I had taken too long and wouldn't make it to my hiding spot, so I dug myself into the sand, and dug up a mummy, or what I thought was a mummy. The next night, when I rose, I had a closer look at it and it looked human, wrapped in bandages and skeletal. Surprisingly, it didn't smell. I buried it back in the sand and continued on my way."

"That's amazing!" Sookie replied. _Amazing, all the stuff he's seen and done in his time here. It's mind-boggling almost._ She thought to herself.

By the time Sookie and Eric got back to their room it was late afternoon. Exhausted, they napped a bit after being up most of the previous night, and having had a long day.

When they woke up it was already dark, and Sookie was a bit surprised that they'd slept for about 4 hours. She felt a bit hungry, but decided to let Eric sleep for a little longer.

After a while Eric woke up on his own and ravenous, and they went down to have dinner.

While Eric was ordering his lasagna, he was sure to let the waitress know that he didn't want garlic in it. The waitress said that was doable. Sookie decided to get a slice of cheese pizza. Eric was saying how he liked the ricotta cheese and the pasta in the lasagna and asked Sookie how her pizza was.

She replied, "It's very good actually, the crust is bready, the sauce and cheese are perfect."

After dinner, they decided to have some dessert and shared a slice of cheesecake. Sookie commented "Oh this cheesecake tastes like real cheesecake, the best I've had"

Eric asked "What might cheesecake have in it that makes it taste real?"

"Oh, cheesecake has cream cheese in it, or at least it should." Answered Sookie.

After finishing, and paying, they decided to go to the pool, and maybe watch TV later.

Back in Louisiana, Pam had already risen. She took her turn driving, after making sure Breandan was securely buckled in, so he couldn't leap and get her. She let Peter and Emily know it was ok to sleep if they wanted now, she could handle him. By the time Pam got to Fangtasia at around 1 in the morning, she saw her humans were fast asleep, and didn't see the use of waking them up just yet.

First, she put Breandan in the basement, still tied up, and went back to the car to drop off her pets at her home. Then she came back and started to play with this wicked, evil fairy.

She knew that lemons and iron were bad for fairies. Luckily she had lemon juice and iron chains. She also was planning on draining his blood into little vials for use later. Pam tied Breandan to one of the poles in the basement, standing up. She then ripped off his clothes, and started squirting lemon juice all over him. She cackled and grinned as the flesh burned, like vampire flesh and silver. She did it until the fairy screamed and yelled in agony, and begged for her to kill him already. She then got a needle and the vials, and began the long process of draining this fairy of his blood. It took about two hours for him to die, and in that time, Pam slashed him with knives, and licked up the blood, as not to waste any. She also bit him over and over with her fangs, and cut off his genitals. By the time he was nearly dead, he had passed out.

A very satisfied Pam took the vials and put them in Eric's office, locked the door and went back to her home.

**Author's note: yes, Pam got her hands on that fairy! I have 19 alerts; won't all of you review and leave commentary? I do respond.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: thankee Evenflo for making this longer for me : ) and all your betaing!**

_Another lovely day with my Sookie, _Eric thought as he woke up another morning to the sun. He still felt human, and quickly realized that it had been a month since he had been victim to Pam's trickery. Reminding himself not to get too anxious, he decided to bring it up over breakfast.

Sookie woke up, stretching and reached over to a still warm Eric. She immediately gasped and got up, staring at him in the sun, in all his glory.

"Eric!" Sookie said in astonishment. "You're still human?"

"Yes it seems I am Sookie." Eric said with a big grin. "I'll ask Amelia about this at breakfast." Eric informed her as the worry line appeared between her eyebrows.

Amelia, Sookie and Eric all sat down to eat their oatmeal and sausages, as well as drink large glasses of milk.

"Amelia, would you happen to know why I seem to still be human?" Eric asked calmly as he turned to face Amelia.

"Well," Amelia started suddenly feeling nervous not knowing how Eric would react. "I was looking in my book while you were on vacation, and it seems that I must chant a special phrase or 'say the magic words' if you will, for you to become a vampire again. As far as Sookie and her telepathy, I must do the same thing." Responded Amelia, carefully avoiding eye contact.

"I see." Eric commented. "Don't worry about it, I wish to remain human and live my life with Sookie. That is as long as she will have me."

Sookie nodded and kissed Eric on his cheek before turning to Amelia. "And I don't want my telepathy back either."

"Happy Independence Day by the way." Eric told Amelia and Sookie.

"You know about independence day?" Amelia asked, looking amazed.

"Yes, of course I do. I have been alive for over a thousand years." Eric retorted as Amelia shrugged. "I heard a lot about it and the importance of it from a friend of mine that fought in the war." Replied Eric.

Eric thought to himself. _All these human wars were also a time of feast for us vampires, all those abandoned bodies full of blood. Before we came out, it was indeed feast or famine. We had to feed when we could to be smart enough to survive._

_******_

Later that evening soon after the sun set, the two girls and Eric went to watch a fireworks show. Eric and Sookie shared one towel, while Amelia shared a towel with Tray. Both couples sat on the ground and gazed up in amazement. The fireworks show contained a lot of different styles. There were many different colored ones. Red, blue, green, orange, and even white, lit up the night sky.

Eric noticed it was a bit more tolerable for his human ears. That coupled with the fact that the fireworks were launched from far away. Sookie sat enjoying the show snuggled against Eric's warm chest.

Eric began thinking to himself. _If I'm going to remain human, I'm going to need to take care of a few things. So far Pam has had everyone thinking I'm unreachable by any means. She's also been running the bar and taking care of my sheriff duties for me. I'll have to let her know, she will officially take the position of the sheriff of area 5. I'll also need to do something about my extra houses. Possibly I'll need to sell them. They shouldn't be too hard to sell, whether to vampires or to humans._

After the show was over, Sookie and Eric went home, while Amelia decided to go home with Tray.

"Sookie," Eric started, "I'm going to need to go to one of my secret houses, so I can talk with Pam about a few things. There are things that I need her to take care of if I am to stay human. Would you like to come or stay here?"

"Sure, it would be nice to see Pam again, I'll come." Replied Sookie.

They got in the car and, since Sookie decided to drive, Eric put in the address for the GPS to give her directions in the dashboard.

Eric called Pam on his cell while they were on their way. "Pam, I need you to meet me at my second secret house. There are things we need to talk about. A few matters that you will need to tend to. You will see why when we get there." Pam agreed and they ended the call.

Pam arrived at the house about the same time as Eric and Sookie did. Once they all got out of their vehicles and walked towards each other, Pam saw Eric and gasped. She could clearly see that Eric was still human and that he smelled human as well.

"Eric, what's going on?" Pam asked with her eyes wide and her voice full of surprise, clearly shocked.

"It seems I'm human Pam. Amelia has to say the magic words for me to turn back. I've decided to stay human for now and live my life with Sookie." He said, putting his arm around his lover. "That is why I requested you meet us here."

"What do you need me to do?" Pam asked.

"Well, I know you've been acting as sheriff over the past month, and I wanted you to know that you will now officially be taking over as the sheriff of area 5. I also need you to have everyone thinking that I've met my final death. This will need to convince several as you are well aware. That way, no one will be looking for me, or be expecting to see me." Responded Eric. _I'm also going to need to change the license plates on my corvette, _Eric thought to himself.

Pam began noticing a different smell coming from Sookie. She sniffed the air as she got closer and said. "My, my Sookie." Pam chided. "I do believe you smell…pregnant." Pam smiled at the couple as they looked at each other both with open mouths.

Sookie and Eric looked at each other, and grinned widely at the idea of a baby. Everyone's mind was going a mile a minute. Eric was thinking of what he might do. Sookie was thinking of a possible wedding, and Pam was thinking of how to get rid of Felipe DeCastro and Victor.

After parting ways, Pam immediately began formulating her plan. First, she would inform DeCastro as well as Victor that Eric was finally dead and that she needed their presence at Fangtasia to discuss her being the sheriff of area 5.

When Pam got back to Fangtasia, she made a phone call to Victor. "I'm calling to tell you that I'm sheriff of area 5 now that Eric is finally dead, I need yours and DeCastro's presence at Fangtasia to discuss matters."

Victor replied "This is very interesting. First he's unreachable, now he's finally dead? My king and I will definitely need to come investigate and discuss things. We will be there tomorrow night."

Pam hung up and went into Eric's office to begin rigging her trap. First, she made sure to put on protective gloves. She put up a large silver net on the ceiling and rigged it to fall when the door opened. Then those nasty slimy vampires would be helpless.

When Sookie and Eric returned home, Sookie remembered Felipe DeCastro, and asked Eric "What if he and Victor don't believe you're really dead? What if they decide to come and discuss things with Pam about her being sheriff?"

Eric thought about this and said "I think Pam is taking care of everything, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if she manages to send them to their final deaths."

Sookie's eyes widened, "What would happen then?" She asked.

"Our Pam would become queen." Eric replied, with pride in his voice.

* * *

Felipe DeCastro and Victor arrived at Fangtasia around midnight. Pam had closed it for that evening so there would be no interruptions, just her and the soon to be finally dead vampires.

"Hello Pam" Felipe began, "so tell me how is it that Eric has met his final death?" Felipe asked.

"Well, the plane he was in while traveling crashed and burned in the daytime, all the coffins were destroyed." Pam replied, taking them to Eric's office and once Felipe opened the door, the net fell on them both, trapping Felipe and Victor.

Of course they screamed and yelled in outrage at Pam's trap, but nothing could be done. Pam flashed them an evil grin and dragged them outside, where the rising sun would hit them in just a few hours.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey all, I'm going to mark this complete and do a sequel to this, I'm trying to decide on a title for it, should it be "a different life" or "a new life", trying to think of something to do with the journey or the life Eric and Sookie will share. I'll be skipping ahead about 6 months.  
**

**I moved chapter 11 to the end of chapter 10, in case you're wondering where it went.**


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